Crime and Punishment 7 Key Moments of Guilt Redemption

Story of Crime and Punishment

Characters:

Raskolnikov (Rodion Romanovitch): Raskolnikov is the main character in the story. He’s a 23-year-old guy who used to be a student but is now broke. He’s described as good-looking, but he has two sides to him. Sometimes he’s cold and doesn’t care about others, but other times he’s kind and caring.

He does something really bad by committing a murder, thinking it would make society better. But instead of focusing on the punishment for the crime, the book mostly talks about how Raskolnikov feels inside. He struggles a lot with feeling guilty and becomes really sick because of it. In the end, he decides to confess and make things right with society.

Sonya (Sofya Semyonovna Marmeladova): Sonya is a girl Raskolnikov meets in a bar. She’s the daughter of a man who drinks a lot. Even though she’s shy and innocent, her family’s situation makes her do things she doesn’t want to do, like becoming a prostitute to help them.

Raskolnikov sees that Sonya feels the same way he does—ashamed and like she doesn’t fit in. He tells her about the bad thing he did, and surprisingly, she supports him, even though she knew one of the people he hurt. Sonya is like a guide for Raskolnikov, helping him feel better and become a better person throughout the story. She’s a really important source of strength and goodness for him.

Razumíkhin (Dmitry Prokofyich): Razumikhin is Raskolnikov’s good friend and used to study law. His name means “sense” or “intelligence,” and he often jokes that it should be “Vrazumikhin,” which means “to bring someone to their senses.”

He’s a really good guy—honest, strong, smart, and resourceful, but sometimes a bit too trusting and inexperienced. These qualities of Razumikhin are really helpful for Raskolnikov, especially at the time of his tough situation. Razumikhin always sees good in Raskolnikov and doesn’t believe the bad things people say about him. He helps Raskolnikov’s family when they come to the city and ends up falling in love with and marrying Raskolnikov’s sister, Dunya. Overall, he’s a loyal and supportive friend.

Dunya: Dunya is Raskolnikov’s sister, and she’s both beautiful and strong-minded. She works as a teacher for a rich family. Dunya wanted to marry a rich but not very kind man named Luzhin because she believed it would make life better for her family and help her escape from her previous boss, Svidrigailov. This made Raskolnikov, her brother; feel very upset and worried, which led him to make a big and bad decision.

Later in St. Petersburg, she manages to get away from Luzhin and Svidrigailov and eventually ends up marrying Razumikhin, Raskolnikov’s loyal friend.

Luzhin (Pyotr Petrovich): Luzhin is a rich lawyer who was going to marry Dunya at the start of the story. But he wasn’t very nice; he wanted Dunya to depend on him completely. He did mean things like accusing Sonya of stealing just to cause trouble between Raskolnikov and his family. Luzhin shows how someone can act really bad and selfish, unlike Svidrigailov, who doesn’t care about morals, and Raskolnikov, who gets mixed up about what’s right and wrong.

Svidrigaïlov (Arkady Ivanovich): Svidrigailov is a rich man who used to be Dunya’s boss and was interested in marrying her. He’s not a good person; he’s interested in pleasure and does bad things. He hears Raskolnikov confessing to Sonya but doesn’t tell the police. Instead, he uses this secret to trouble Dunya and Raskolnikov.

Even though he seems mean, there are moments where he does something nice. When Dunya says she can’t love him and tries to shoot him, he lets her go. He said to Sonya that he helped the children of Marmeladov find a new home where they can stay and be cared for. He also gave Sonya some money so she could go and be with Raskolnikov in Siberia. In the end, he leaves his money to his young fiancée and ends his life by committing suicide.

Porfiry Petrovich: Porfiry Petrovich is a smart detective who is trying to solve the murders that happened. He wants Raskolnikov to confess to the crimes. He doesn’t directly ask him but tries to make Raskolnikov feel anxious and confused so that he might confess without being asked. Later, he stops using these tricks and genuinely advises Raskolnikov to confess because it would be better for him.

Crime and Punishment 7 Key Moments of Guilt Redemption

Other characters:

Raskolnikov’s Mom (Pulkheria Alexandrovna Raskolnikova) – Raskolnikov’s loving and hopeful mom. She gets very sick after Raskolnikov’s punishment and passes away. At the end, she hints that she knows a bit about her son’s fate, but Dunya and Razumikhin didn’t tell her everything.

Semyon Marmeladov – A man who Raskolnikov meets when he’s thinking about committing a crime. He’s a hopeless drunk. Raskolnikov feels touched when Marmeladov passionately talks about how his drinking ruined his life and his family’s life, especially Sonya’s.

Katerina Ivanovna Marmeladova – She is Marmeladov’s sick and sometimes angry second wife. She later regrets forcing Sonya into a tough situation. She tries hard to make her kids’ lives better, even though she hits them sometimes. She wants to prove that she’s better than the poor life she’s living. After Marmeladov dies, she uses money Raskolnikov gave her for his funeral. She gets sicker and passes away too.

Andrey Lebezyatnikov – A guy who lives with Luzhin and believes in a perfect society where everyone is equal. He sees Luzhin’s plan to make Sonya look bad and tells everyone about it. Raskolnikov finds out that Lebezyatnikov was right about Luzhin’s bad intentions.

Alyona Ivanovna – An old woman who hoards money and treats people badly. Raskolnikov plans to rob and kill her at the start of the story.

Lizaveta Ivanovna – Alyona’s sister who is innocent and not strong. Raskolnikov also accidentally kills her when she walks in right after he kills Alyona. Lizaveta was friends with Sonya.

Zosimov – A doctor who is friends with Razumikhin. He takes care of Raskolnikov when he’s very sick and helps him get better.

Nastasya Petrovna – She’s the cheerful servant who takes care of Raskolnikov at his landlady’s place. She’s kind and brings him food and drinks.

Nikodim Fomich – A nice police chief.

Ilya Petrovich – A police officer who is really angry. He’s the first to suspect Raskolnikov of the crime, and Raskolnikov eventually confesses to him.

Alexander Zamyotov – He works at the police station and is friends with Razumikhin.

Praskovya Pavlovna Zarnitsyna – Raskolnikov’s landlady. She’s shy and doesn’t play a big part in the story. Raskolnikov owed her money because he was supposed to marry her daughter who passed away.

Marfa Petrovna Svidrigaïlova – Svidrigaïlov’s dead wife. Svidrigaïlov is suspected of killing her, and he says she visited him as a ghost. In a letter from Raskolnikov’s mom, it’s mentioned that Marfa defended Dunya against Svidrigaïlov and introduced her to Luzhin. She left money for Dunya in her will.

Nikolai Dementiev (Mikolka) – A house painter who is suspected of the murder at first but falsely confesses because of his beliefs.

Polina Marmeladova – She’s Semyon Marmeladov’s adopted daughter and Sonya’s younger sister.

Summary:

Part 1

Raskolnikov is a guy who used to study law but now lives in a very small and poor room in Saint Petersburg. He keeps to himself alone and doesn’t talk to many people. He’s not trying to earn money anymore and spends all his time thinking about a plan he made to kill and steal from an old lady who lends money. He goes to the lady’s house to pretend he wants to trade a watch for money, but he can’t make himself do what he planned to do. Later, Raskolnikov meets a man named Marmeladov in a bar.

Marmeladov drinks a lot and has just spent all his family’s money. Marmeladov talks to Raskolnikov about his daughter Sonya. He tells Raskolnikov that Sonya does a job that’s not good, called being a prostitute, to help their family have money.

The next day, Raskolnikov gets a letter from his mom. She talks about his sister Dunya having problems with her boss, Svidrigailov, who isn’t a good person. Dunya works as a teacher for his family, but her boss is not nice to her. To get away from her difficult situation and try to help her brother, Dunya decides to marry a rich man named Luzhin.

They are coming to Petersburg to meet him. The letter says that Luzhin, the man Dunya is going to marry, might not be very nice. It seems like he’s selfish and wants to use Dunya’s problems to benefit himself. Raskolnikov gets really mad when he learns that his sister is making a big sacrifice, just like Sonya had to do something difficult.

He feels upset that they both have to give up important things because of their tough situations. Raskolnikov feels very sad because he doesn’t have much money or power to change things. He keeps thinking about his plan. Some things happening around him make him feel like he should go ahead and do what he planned to do.

Raskolnikov feels very worried and anxious. He takes an axe and goes back to the old lady’s house again. He goes to the lady’s place by pretending he wants to sell his watch for money, but then he uses the axe to hurt her, and she dies. He accidentally hurts and kills another lady named Lizaveta who comes in while he’s doing something bad to the first lady.

After doing something really bad, Raskolnikov feels scared. He takes only a few things and a little bit of money from the lady’s house, leaving most of her valuable things behind. Luckily, Raskolnikov is able to get away from the house without anyone seeing him and goes back to his room without being caught.

Part 2

Feeling very sick and confused, Raskolnikov hides the things he took and then falls asleep because he’s very tired. The next morning, Raskolnikov gets scared when he’s asked to go to the police station. But it’s not about what he did – it’s just because his landlady wants to talk to him about some money he owes. The police officers start talking about the murder, and Raskolnikov suddenly feels very dizzy and falls down. After a short time, he feels better, but he can see from their faces that he has aroused suspicion.

Worried that the police might look for the things he took, Raskolnikov hides them under a big rock in an empty yard. He feels embarrassed because he didn’t even check how much money was in the purse he took. Not sure why, Raskolnikov goes to see his old friend Razumikhin from university. Razumikhin notices that Raskolnikov looks very sick. Later, Raskolnikov goes back to his room and becomes even sicker.

After several days, when he comes out, he sees that Razumikhin found him and has been taking care of him. Raskolnikov, still feeling sick, listens anxiously as Razumikhin and the doctor talk about the police looking into the murders. They mention that a man named Mikolka, who was working nearby, got caught, and the police are talking to people who knew the old lady. While they were talking, Luzhin, Dunya’s future husband, came to meet them.

But Raskolnikov purposely says mean things and makes Luzhin leave. Then, he gets upset and tells everyone else to go away too. After that, he leaves secretly and looks for information about the murder. It seems like he almost wants people to notice that he was involved in it.

Raskolnikov meets a policeman named Zamyotov, who thinks Raskolnikov might be involved in something bad. Raskolnikov makes fun of the policeman’s thoughts without saying anything. Then Raskolnikov goes back to where the crime happened and remembers how he felt at that time.

He makes the workers there upset by asking about the murder and even suggests going to the police together to talk about it. While thinking about confessing, he sees Marmeladov, who gets hit by a carriage and is very hurt. Raskolnikov helps him and takes him home to his family. Marmeladov asks Sonya to forgive him before he passes away. Raskolnikov gives some money to Marmeladov’s wife, saying it’s to repay a debt he owed his friend.

Raskolnikov feels much better and visits his friend Razumikhin. They both return to Raskolnikov’s place. When he goes inside his room, he is very surprised to see his mother and sister sitting there. They just came to Petersburg and are very happy to see him. But Raskolnikov feels very shocked, cannot say anything, and falls down fainting.

Part 3

Razumikhin saw that Raskolnikov was feeling sad. He talked kindly to Raskolnikov and made him feel better. Then, he asked the worried mom and sister to go back to their home with him. They listened to Razumikhin and went back to their house together. Razumikhin went with the mom and sister, even though he was a bit drunk and felt amazed by Dunya’s beauty. The next morning, when they came back, Raskolnikov looked better physically.

But it was clear that he still seemed lost in his thoughts and was only pretending to be okay during their meeting. Dunya’s brother Raskolnikov asks her to stop being with Luzhin, but Dunya strongly defends why she wants to marry him. Raskolnikov’s mom gets a letter from Luzhin saying that her son shouldn’t be around when they meet next time. Luzhin also says he saw Raskolnikov give money to a woman named Sonya, and he thinks she’s not a good person because she’s not married.

Dunya’s brother Raskolnikov asks her to stop being with Luzhin, but Dunya strongly defends why she wants to marry him. Raskolnikov’s mom gets a letter from Luzhin saying that her son shouldn’t be around when they meet next time. Luzhin also says he saw Raskolnikov give money to a woman named Sonya, and he thinks she’s not a good person because she’s not married. Dunya wants to have a meeting with Luzhin and her brother together.

Raskolnikov decides to go to this meeting in the evening with his friend Razumikhin. But then, Raskolnikov gets surprised because Sonya unexpectedly comes to his door. Sonya came to Raskolnikov’s house. She said he had given his address to her before. She invited him to her father’s funeral. When she was leaving, Raskolnikov asked for her address. He said he would visit her soon.

Raskolnikov asks Razumikhin to take him to see a detective named Porfiry Petrovich, who is investigating the murders. Raskolnikov feels like Porfiry knows he is the one who committed the crime. Porfiry was talking about the case with Zamyotov when Raskolnikov and Razumikhin came. Porfiry talked in a funny way during their conversation.

Porfiry, the detective, is very interested in an article Raskolnikov wrote a few months ago called ‘On Crime.’ In the article, Raskolnikov talks about special people who can break rules if it helps their big ideas succeed. Raskolnikov defended himself well, but Porfiry’s way of talking made him worried and mad. They plan to meet again at the police office the next morning. Raskolnikov leaves his friend Razumikhin with his family and goes back to his home. He sees a stranger, an old worker, asking about him.

Raskolnikov tries to ask the worker what he wants, but the worker only says one word – “murderer,” and goes away. Raskolnikov gets really scared and goes back to his room. He feels very worried and thinks a lot before falling asleep. Raskolnikov woke up from a scary dream about the old woman’s murder. Then, he saw someone new in his room, a man who looked aristocratic. The man said his name was Arkady Ivanovich Svidrigailov and he was polite.

Part 4

The aristocratic man, Svidrigailov, talks a lot, but Raskolnikov doesn’t say much. Svidrigailov says he doesn’t love Dunya anymore but wants to stop her from marrying Luzhin. He offers Dunya some money, but Raskolnikov says no on her behalf and doesn’t want to arrange a meeting. Svidrigailov also says his wife, who supported Dunya before, left her 3000 rubles in her will when she died. That evening, Luzhin and Dunya talk about Svidrigailov, who is not a good person and lives in Petersburg.

They discuss how Svidrigailov’s wife passed away and left 3000 rubles for Dunya. Dunya wants to talk to her brother about this matter, but Luzhin gets upset. When Raskolnikov says Luzhin’s letter is full of lies, Luzhin gets mad and acts badly, showing who he really is.

Dunya asks him to go away and never return. They are happy because they have money now and start talking about what they will do next. But suddenly, Raskolnikov stands up and says he might not see them again. He tells Razumikhin, who is very confused, to stay and take care of them always.

Raskolnikov goes to Sonya’s house. She feels glad he came but also scared because he acts strange. He asks Sonya many tough questions about her tough life and about Katerina Ivanovna and the kids. Raskolnikov starts to understand that Sonya only has hope in God to keep her going. Sonya tells Raskolnikov that she was friends with Lizaveta, the one who got killed.

Lizaveta gave her a cross and a book of stories from the Bible. She reads him a story from the Bible about Lazarus coming back to life. Raskolnikov becomes more interested in Sonya, especially since he heard about her from her father. He decides that they should face the future together. When he leaves, he promises Sonya that he’ll come back the next day and tell her who killed her friend Lizaveta.

When Raskolnikov goes to talk to Porfiry, Porfiry talks in a way that makes Raskolnikov upset. Raskolnikov gets very angry because Porfiry hints about having a surprise for him. Suddenly, there’s noise outside, and a young painter named Mikolka comes in with some policemen. Surprisingly, the young man, Mikolka, starts saying he did the bad things. But Porfiry, the police officer, doesn’t think it’s true.

Even though Porfiry doesn’t believe Mikolka, he has to let Raskolnikov go free. Later, when Raskolnikov goes back home, he gets scared because the old craftsman shows up at his door. But the old man apologizes and asks for forgiveness. He explains that he was the “little surprise” Porfiry had mentioned earlier. He heard Mikolka confess. He was there when Raskolnikov went back to the place where the bad things happened, and he told Porfiry about what Raskolnikov did there.

Crime and Punishment 7 Key Moments of Guilt Redemption

Part 5

After the sad ceremony for Marmeladov, Raskolnikov goes to Katerina Ivanovna’s house for a gathering. Things start to get worse as people drink a lot, and Katerina Ivanovna, who is feeling very upset, starts arguing with her German landlord.

Suddenly, Luzhin arrives unexpectedly and says that some money went missing from his room when Sonya visited him to get a little bit of money as a donation. Everyone is surprised by Luzhin’s serious accusation. Sonya gets scared and says she didn’t take the money, but Luzhin still says she did and insists on searching her.

Katerina Ivanovna, who is very angry, checks Sonya’s pockets to prove she’s innocent. Unfortunately, a 100-ruble note falls out of one of Sonya’s pockets. Everyone starts to think Sonya took the money. Luzhin scolds her, and the landlady tells them all to leave. Luzhin’s friend, Lebezyatnikov, gets upset and tells everyone that he saw Luzhin put the money in Sonya’s pocket secretly when she was leaving. He had thought it was a kind gesture, but now he realizes it wasn’t.

Raskolnikov supports Lebezyatnikov and explains why Luzhin did it: Luzhin wanted to hurt Raskolnikov by making Sonya look bad, hoping to create problems in Raskolnikov’s family. Luzhin is now not believed. Sonya is very upset and runs away. Raskolnikov follows her.

Raskolnikov talks to Sonya about how Luzhin could have made things very bad for her and the kids. Then, he says something very surprising: he admits that he is the one who did something very wrong – he’s the person who hurt the old woman and Lizaveta. He tries to explain why he did it to Sonya, but she doesn’t understand.

She’s shocked, not just about the bad thing he did, but also how much he’s hurting himself. Sonya says he needs to tell the police about what he did. Lebezyatnikov comes and tells Raskolnikov and Sonya that Katerina Ivanovna has been thrown out of her place and she’s not well. They rush to find her on the street surrounded by many people. She’s very sick and not in her right mind, trying to make the scared kids perform for money. They bring her back to Sonya’s room, but sadly, she’s very upset and not talking clearly. Then, she passes away.

Suddenly, Svidrigailov shows up and tells Raskolnikov that he’ll use the money Dunya was supposed to get to arrange Katerina Ivanovna’s funeral and take care of the children by finding them good places to stay. When Raskolnikov asks Svidrigailov why he’s doing this, Svidrigailov laughs and says exactly the same words Raskolnikov used when he was telling Sonya why he did the bad thing. Svidrigailov was living next to Sonya’s place and heard everything Raskolnikov confessed about the murder.

Part 6

Razumikhin tells Raskolnikov that Dunya, his sister, got a letter that made her sad. Also, Raskolnikov is surprised to hear that Porfiry, the investigator, doesn’t think he did the murders anymore. Just when Raskolnikov is getting ready to find Svidrigailov, Porfiry comes and asks if they can talk for a bit. Porfiry says sorry for how he acted before and tries to explain why.

Raskolnikov starts to feel worried that Porfiry might believe he didn’t do anything wrong. But Porfiry is being nicer because he respects Raskolnikov, not because he thinks he’s innocent. Porfiry still thinks Raskolnikov did the crime and says he will arrest him soon. Porfiry suggests it would be better if Raskolnikov admits it, but Raskolnikov decides to keep fighting.

When Raskolnikov comes back home, Dunya, who was watching them, talks to Svidrigailov. She asks him about the letter he sent, mentioning her brother’s “secret.” She goes with him to his place, where he tells her what he heard and tries to make her agree to what he wants. Dunya has a gun, and she shoots at Svidrigailov, but she doesn’t hit him.

Svidrigailov calmly tells her to reload and try again. Eventually, she throws the gun away. Svidrigailov, feeling very sad because she hates him, tells her to leave. Later that night, he goes to Sonya to talk about the plans for Katerina Ivanovna’s children. He gives her 3000 rubles and says she might need it if she wants to go with Raskolnikov to Siberia. Svidrigailov spends the night in a sad hotel and the next morning, he ends his own life in a public place.

Raskolnikov sadly says goodbye to his mom without telling her the truth. Dunya is waiting for him in his room, and he tells her he’s going to the police to admit to the murders. On the way, he stops at Sonya’s place, and she gives him a crucifix. At the police station, he finds out that Svidrigailov took his own life. Raskolnikov almost changes his mind and leaves the building, but when he sees Sonya looking sad, he goes back and confesses everything about the murders.